Fujitsu and Nagoya University Develop Technology Enabling High-Speed Detection of Toxic Proteins Using DNA Aptamers

Tokyo, Aug 2, 2010 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and Nagoya University today announced the development of technology that enables high-speed detection of toxic proteins(1) that cause food poisoning. A new sensor that detects the presence of toxic proteins was manufactured, by employing a combination of artificial antibodies (DNA aptamers) which capture the toxic proteins, with a signal converter which converts those "capturing events" of captured toxins into optical signals. The new sensor enables detection of toxic proteins 100 times faster than with previous methods. This new technology can be used for shipment inspections of various foods to enable faster and more accurate inspections, thus contributing to better food safety. Development of this technology was partially funded by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan(2).